Not the Absence of Fear
by RebelMandM
Summary: Sequel to Protect At All Costs. Alain and Zara (my OC) are on mission: stop Team Flare. They both know the risks they face and the dangers they'll have to go through to get it done, but both are willing to do whatever it takes. But what will they do when what has to be done becomes more than their willing to sacrifice? Title subject to revision.
1. The Welcoming Committee

**Hey everybody! This is your favorite piece of Confederate chocolate here with a brand new fan fiction story! Now I know I said I would write another story after I got twenty yes's on my pole...well I've only gotten four, but inspiration can't be stopped, so here goes.**

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"How much longer, Steven?"

Zara posed the question to her teacher as she gazed out the air plane's door window. Normally a relatively patient person, Zara had been bouncing on the balls of her feet ever since Steven's father's heli-plane had taken off from Hoenn. It's destination: Lumiose City, in the Kalos region.

"Fifteen minutes, give or take," Steven replied. "In a hurry to get there?"

"Yes and no," Zara replied.

"Why yes and no?" Steven asked.

Zara sighed as she answered, "It's complicated, Steven."

It had been four days since the Mega Evolution Seminar had ended, and if life had been anything since that time, busy would have to be it. Even since the seminar ended, Steven had started making plans to travel to the Kalos region and help put an end to Team Flare for good. He'd shut down the League, put Drake in charge untill he got back, checked the status of Team Magma and Team Aqua, and told the Elite Four if they needed anything to ask Wallace, the Water type gym leader from Sotopolis City. Then he'd prepared one of his father's company planes, including getting a good pilot, and convincing his father that he needed to go. Then, bright and early this morning, he and Zara had set out for Kalos. Wally had showed up on the landing pad just before they left, begging to go with them so he could see Kalos, but Steven had told him no. Zara frowned as she remembered how Mr. Stone had needed to hold Wally back to keep him from jumping into the plane afterward. She'd know that he really wanted to go to the Kalos region and travel around it, she'd just never realized how badly he'd wanted it.

Zara herself really wanted to come to the Kalos region, and then again she didn't, hence her conflicting answer to Steven's question. It had to do with two people, her desire to see one, and her fear of the other. The one she wanted to see was Alain, the teenage trainer she'd met at the Seminar, who she'd told about her past, something she never told anyone about, and who she'd accidentally helped to see he'd been tricked, and who she'd subsequently come to trust completely. The one she feared was Lysander, the man Alain had been tricked by, and who had ordered her parents killed, and had intended to take her back to Kalos as his prisoner. It was Alain who had rescued her from Lysander, saving her from a fate she didn't even dare think about. After a little time spent hiding in her own guilt for believing he truly was serving Lysander, she had confessed her feelings to him, and he had returned them whole heartedly. He'd even kissed her before he'd left.

Zara closed her eyes, letting the memory of his lips crashing against hers wash over her. But as she did, a memory of Celosia, the one who had carried out Lysander's order to kill her parents, surfaced unbidden. In Zara's mind, the purple haired scientist slapped her across the face, and Zara opened her eyes sharply, jerking and giving a small gasp.

Steven's attention turned from the plane's instrument panel to Zara. "You alright, Zara?"

Zara nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. Honestly, she didn't know if she was alright or not. She was scared, really, truly afraid of what she was walking into, but at the same time, she wouldn't stay behind and not help no matter what. She wanted Lysander and his villainous team stopped before they hurt anyone else the way they hurt her, the way they hurt Alain.

 _Calm down girl,_ she thought critically, _you just need to calm down. When you get to Kalos, he'll be there, and he'll keep you safe. You can tell him everything when you get there, that'll make you feel better._

In the four days since the seminar had ended, Zara had found herself thinking that a lot. Everywhere she looked, there seemed to be things that reminded her of her encounter with Lysander and Celosia, and she continually was caught reacting to them by either Steven or Mr. Stone. Even Wally had asked her if she was alright a couple of times. Everytime one of them would ask what the matter was, however, she would only respond that it was complicated. She'd told Steven and Wally everything about her past, but had also told them that she never wanted to talk about it again. Saying things were complicated was her way of not answering the question that had to do with her past and the information it contained, and yet still giving an honest answer that got the asker to drop the subject.

Zara took a deep breath to steady herself and she leaned against the door window again, straining to see the ground, but only glimpsing it around the wing"How much longer?" she asked again, trying to get her mind on something else.

"Three minutes since the last time you asked," Steven answered. "Do you want to-"

The Hoenn Champion was cut off when the plane suddenly jolted wildly. Zara grabbed the door, Steven grabbed the instrument panel to steady himself, and everything else in the plan, including Zara's and Steven's suitcases, went toppling, landing in a huge heap on the floor.

"What was that?" Steven asked.

"Something struck the wings from the outside," the pilot replied, scaning his instruments rapidly.

Zara leaned back un against the window and strained to see the ground again. "Can you tell if it came from above or below?" she asked.

"Below," the pilot answered curtly.

Zara flattened herself against the glass, and then she saw it. A Pokemon's attack coming straight for them, a pale blue one. It came closer and closer, untill it passed above her window and out of sight. Almost as soon as it did, there was another violent jolt, and Zara grabbed the door again as the whole plane shook.

"Something's attacking us from outside!" she shouted.

Suddenly, the plane tipped to one side, causing everything that had fallen on the floor earlier to slide toward that side of the plane, and the aircraft began to go down.

"What's going on?" Steven asked urgently.

"There's something building up on the left wing of the plane," the pilot answered. "It's weighing that side down. I'll try and level us off, but if we take on much more weight, this plane won't be able to handle it.

Steven nodded before turning to Zara. "Who's attacking us?"

"I can't tell," she answered.

"Well, what attack are they using then?"

Zara turned back to the window just in time to see two more of the same pale blue attacks flying toward the plane. Somehow they looked very familiar...like icicles, or a skating rink, or...

"It's Ice Beam!" she cried suddenly, just as the two attacks connected. Somehow though, the jolt they created seemed bigger than what just two attacks could do.

Steven, who had let go of the instrument panel, was knocked to the floor by the powerful Ice Beams. He quickly recovered and hurried to the other door's window. "There are more over here!" he shouted.

After the additional layer of ice, the pilot was struggling to maintain altitude, and the plane began to drop even lower. "Sir, can you help me control this?" the pilot asked Steven desperately. Steven hurried over to the controls and began adjusting them as the pilot told him to.

Another Ice Beam struck the left side of the plane, and the aircraft did a crazy dip before the pilot and Steven could level it out. As it dipped, the things that had fallen onto the floor, which by now were in a disorganized pile, slid across the floor and banged against the left wall. As the items connected, Zara thought she heard a muffled, "Ow" from within the pile.

 _Oh no, it can't be... can it?_ Scrambling over to the mess as best she could, she tore into it. And sure enough, about halfway down, she encountered a head covered in green hair. "Wally!" she shouted.

Wally blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the light, then seeing Zara's angry face, looked away sheepishly. "Oops," he whispered.

"Oops is right," Zara replied. "What are you doing here?" But as she said it, the plane jolted, and then dropped again, sending both of them toppling across the plane. "Tell me later," Zara amended, then scrambled back to the door.

More Ice Beams were coming up at them. Lots more. _We must have upset a group of wild Ice types or something,_ Zara thought.

The plane gave a violent shudder, and began to slowly descend.

"I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to last!" the pilot shouted, tugging hard on the plane's steering wheel.

Zara looked out the window one more time. More Ice Beams than ever were flying up at them. _I have to do something,_ she thought urgently. _And fast._

Making up her mind, she punched her palm into the button that opened the door. It slowly began to open, sharp, cold wind pouring in through the opening. She reached into her pocket and drew out a pokeball, letting it expand in her hand.

"Zara, what are you doing?!" Steven cried.

"Stopping those Ice Beams, what does it look like!" she cried back. She drew back her arm and flung the pokeball with a shout of, "Flygon, at the ready!"

The pokeball burst open, and her Flygon burst out in a flash of white light, crying its name as loud as it could.

"Flygon, Protect!" Zara ordered.

The Ground and Dragon type pushed its snout toward the incoming Ice Beams and a transparent green barrier formed in front of it, stopping all but one of the Ice Beam attacks in their tracks. The one that it didn't block struck the propeller on the wing of the plane. Another jolt shook the aircraft and it dropped even lower.

More Ice Beams shot up, one after another. "Flamethrower!" Zara ordered.

Flygon opened its mouth and blasted the new Ice Beams with a torrent of flames. Two attacks got past it this time, one striking Flygon on the tip of its tail, the other shooting up toward the wings of the plane.

Then suddenly, from beside her, Zara heard a "Shadow Balll!" Almost instantly, a dark ball shaped blob intercepted the stray Ice Beam and the two attacks cancelled out. Zara whipped around to look beside her and found Wally and his Roserade.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"As l-long as you know I'm h-here, I may as well help-p," Wally answered, his voice shaking slightly. The plane continued to sink lower and Wally gripped the doorframe so hard his knuckles turned white. "Where are th-these att-tacks coming fr-from?" he asked.

"That is a very good question," Zara replied.

More Ice Beams shot up at them. "Flamethrower, Flygon!" Zara commanded.

"Petal Blizzard!" Wally cried.

Both Flygon and Roserade launched their attacks and intercepted all the Ice Beams. They connected and exploded, generating a cloud of smoke.

"Yes!" Wally said happily.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Zara cautioned. The plane, thought it hadn't taken anymore damage or ice for a while, was still steadily sinking from the weight of the ice on it. "We've got to find a way to get the ice off the plane. If we don't, I'm afraid this thing is going to crash."

"How do we do that?" Wally asked just as a new set of Ice Beams flew past the open door.

"Protect!" Zara shouted.

Flygon twisted mid-flight and chased after the Ice Beams. It overtook them and flew between them and the plane, then created a pale green barrier in front of it. The attacks stopped short of the plane, all driving into Flygon's Protect.

"Could Flygon use Flamethrower on the plane to melt the ice?" Wally asked. Another Ice Beam shot past them, and he ordered, "Shadow Ball!"

Roserade intercepted the Ice Beam with a powerful Shadow Ball.

Zara paused and considered Wally's idea before discarding it. "No, I'm not sure where all is frozen. If it happens to be a place that's over the gas tank or the engines, the fire could cause an explosion."

"So we br-break it off?" Wally suggested.

"That-" Zara began, but was cut off by more Ice Beams. "Flamethrower!" she shouted, and Flygon blasted the attacks with flames. "-isn't a bad idea. But if we can't see the ice, I can't direct Flygon where is safe to hit and where isn't. Any ideas?"

Wally twisted his mouth around in thought. After a second, he shrugged sadly and said, "Mirrors?"

Zara gazed out at her Pokemon. "You know what? I think I know how." She lifted to fingers to her lips and whistled a high blast. Flygon turned it's head toward her and started to fly back toward the open doorway. "Think you can handle these Ice Beams for a few minutes?" Zara asked Wally.

"Maybe, b-b-but what are you g-going to do?" Wally asked.

"Get a Dragon's eye view," Zara answered. Giving Wally a comforting wink, she turned to the open sky. Flygon dipped under the plane and began to fly even with it. Zara leaned out over the Dragon and Ground type, waiting for the right moment.

"Zara!" Steven cried in a painiced voice from the control panel, "What are you doing?"

Zara turned her head and gave him the most confident smile she could manage before leaping from the plane.

"Zara!" Wally shouted frightfully.

Zara barely heard the young trainer's cry. In seconds, she had fallen out of ear shot. The sound of the plane's propellers roared in her ears. Wind whipped past her, cutting through her clothes and freezing her skin. It was terrifying and amazing at the same time.

 _So this is what skydiving feels like,_ Zara though. _Except skydivers have parachutes. I've got-_

As she thought this, more Ice Beams shot up from the ground. Now she could see the ground clearly, but theur attackers were still hidden. Thick trees blocked her view of whatever didn't want them around. Several of them flew past her toward the plane and she could hear Roaserade's attacks intercepting them. But some of them shot toward her. Closer, and closer, cold, jagged, pale blue attacks.

 _Oh no. Help. Help!_ "Flygon!" Zara tried to scream, but the wind stole her cry away.

The attacks began to close in, fast.

Zara's pulse spiked and she panicked. She stared to flail her arms, trying to change her direction, but it didn't work.

"Flygon!" she screamed again, but to no avail.

The Ice Beam was close enough she could have touched it with her foot.

And then Flygon was beneath her. The Mystic Pokemon darted underneath her and Zara landed flat on its back, arms scrambling to grasp it's neck, heart pounding like a drum. Just as quickly, Flygon darted away, out of the path of the Ice Beams. They passed by harmlessly to be intercepted by an Aerial Ace from Steven's Skarmory.

Flygon pulled level with the plane and Zara began to survey the damage the ice had caused.

"Zara, what are you doing out there!" Steven hollered to her, though Zara could only barely hear him over the propellers.

"Getting the ice off the plane! What do you think?" Zara yelled back.

"Can you g-g-g," Wally began, but couldn't finish. Even from Flygon, Zara could tell he was shaking.

"Get the ice off?" Zara finished for him. "Yes, we can!" She patted her Flygon on its neck, and it screamed it's name eagerly. "Alright Flygon, Dragon Tail!"

Flygon zipped into action. It darted toward the underside of the plane's wings, and twisting around, slammed it green glowing tail against the ice that had formed there. Zara clung to its neck as it twisted, hoping desperately she wouldn't fall, fighting to keep the anxiety off her face.

Ice shatted beneath Flygon's tail, and shard began to fall all around it. Zara clung tighter to her Pokemon's neck and flecks of freezing cold ice scraped against her face and arms. She grit her teeth as Flygon shot around the wing, and her stomach lurched angrily.

"Steel Wing!" she heard Steven shout from below.

"Petal Blizzard!" she faintly heard Wally add.

Moments later, the plane jolted violently, and began to descend more rapidly.

 _Ugh, more ice to clear off._ "Flygon, Dragon Tail again!" she cried.

Flygon zipped around to the plane's other wing and repeated its manuver. Again, flecks of ice scraped against Zara's exposed skin, and her stomach lurched more violently. Flygon didn't wait for another command, but again darted under the first wing and drove it's tail through the ice that hung there. Then it came to fly above the plane, it's wings humming in a steady rhythm.

"There," Zara said, surveying their work. "Good job Flygon."

Beneath her, Flygon cried happily.

The plane steadily began to level out, and then began to rise. _Guess the pilot regained control of this thing,_ Zara thought. "Okay, Flygon, let's get back to helping Wally and Steven."

Flygon dipped it's head and turned toward the left side of the plane.

Suddenly from below, several explosions sounded. "What-" Zara began, but stopped when she heard Steven's voice shouting, "Steel Wing, quickly!" Moments later, the plane jolted sharply and began to falter in its ascent.

"Down Flygon, fast," Zara urged her Pokemon. Flygon wasted no time. It dove over the side of the plane and down untill it flew below the aircraft. Now Zara could see what had happened. More Ice Beams had struck, this time on the bottom of the plane, and now ice hung there. And if Zara knew anything about planes, which she knew very little, she knew that the gas tank was on the lower portion of the plane.

"Oh no," Zara whispered to herself. "Flygon, Dragon Tail! Break up that ice! Fast!"

Flygon darted to the front of the plane and doing a sharp loop, raised it's tail and slammed it into the ice. The ice broke once again, but this time it came off in chunks, not flecks. The chunks fell onto Flygon and Zara like hail, pelting them with rock hard pieces. One struck Zara's arm above her wrist and suddenly she felt pain there. Looking down, she saw the ice had left a zagged cut about three inches long that was oozing crimson red blood.

Zara scowled at her arm then patted Flygon's neck. "Up Flygon."

Flygon flew up till it was level with the plane's open door. Steven's Skarmory pulled even with it too.

"Did you g-get it all off?" Wally called out to her.

Most of it," she called back, "but it keeps coming back faster than we can break it off!"

"We're trying to stop them, but there are too many!" Steven yelled. "Whatever happens, you need to get back in the plane!"

"I'm fine! We have to stop-" Zara began, but stopped when Flygon roared beneath her. Leaning over her Pokemon's side, she saw an Ice Beam driving into her Pokemon's right wing. "Flygon!" she cried.

Flygon continued to scream and roar, but its wing beats from its right wing became steadily weaker. Quickly it's whole wing was encased in ice, and stopped flapping altogether. Flygon flapped it's left wing furiously to try and make up for the loss, but to no avail. Slowly it tipped it it's right side, slipping from the sky.

As her Pokemon began to tip, Zara clutched it's neck for dear life. Flygon did a barrel roll, then plummeted, taking Zara with it. A scream tore out of Zara's mouth as she fell, but the wind stole away the sound.

"Zara!" she heard both Steven and Wally shout before she fell out of earshot, but if they said anything else, it was lost in the wind.

Flygon struggled to right itself, steadily managing to roll over so Zara was on top. Zara watched her Pokemon desperately flap it's wings, trying to shake the ice off the right one, but it couldn't.

Zara peeked over Flygon's shoulder and nearly threw up. The ground was less than three hundred feet away and coming in fast. But that wasn't the worst part. More Ice Beams were coming up from the ground. And everyone of them was aimed at her and Flygon.

Reaching out with her foot as far as she could, Zara beat at Flygon's ice covered wing. The ice refused to budge or crack.

Flygon reared and screamed, now flailing it's whole body desperately.

"Protect!" Zara cried.

Flygon quickly put up a pale green barrier. It stopped the Ice Beams, but they continued to fall.

Zara clung tighter to her Pokemon's neck and wracked her brain for a solution to the problem. _If only he and his Charizard were here. He'd be able to help us. Help. I need help._

 _But he's not here. So what do I do?_

 _I have to get the ice off Flygon. I have to break it off or melt it off or...Charizard could just burn it away, so long as Flygon didn't faint in the process..._

 _That's it!_

"Flamethrower on your wing, Flygon!" Zara screamed, raising her voice above the wind.

Flygon roared and rearing back, blasted itself with flames. They struck it's wing and underbelly, burning the Ground and Dragon type, but melting the ice quickly. As the ice melted, the flames flew up around Flygon more. As the last of the ice turned to liquid, the Flamethrower licked up around to Flygon's back, singeing Zara pants and leg. Flygon stopped it's attack and began to fly again, the wind putting out the fire on Zara's clothing, but a burn remained on her leg. Zara hissed angrily, but tried to ignore the pain.

They were now less than one hundred feet from the ground. Flygon dipped downward, trying to even out its flight, and bringing the ground into sharper focus. _When I wanted to see the ground, this wasn't what I meant,_ Zara though, shuddering.

Suddenly, from under the tree cover, she saw movement. Small, dark Pokemon were moving around below them, walking on two legs and waving their arms wildly.

"What are those, Flygon?" Zara asked. Flygon didn't reply, only flew on, beginning to climb back to the plane.

From below, voices began to drift up to Zara ears over the sound of Flygon's wings. Loud, angry voices. Looking back down, she saw the Pokemon screaming at each other and some of them attacking one another. After a moment of studing them, she concluded they were either Sneasle or Weavile.

And then she saw something that turned her blood to ice.

A human dressed entirely in red stepped out from beneath the foliage of a tree and began pointing angrily to all of the Pokemon. The Pokemon settled down grudgingly. Then the person lifted a hand and pointed upward. Straight at Flygon. Straight at her. The person looked up, and somehow Zara felt as though he was looking straight into her eyes, thought she knew he or she was too far away for that.

Zara jerked into a sitting position, clutching Flygon's neck with a death grip. _Team Flare. Team_ Flare k _nows we're here. Team Flare is trying to crash our plane!_ Fear knotted her stomach, and bile rose in her throat.

The many Pokemon below all followed the person's finger, and moments later twenty Ice Beams shot up at them. Zara could only watch them come, rooted in place.

Flygon looked down from its ascent and roared furiously. Twisting and going into a steep dive, it charged into the incoming Ice Beams. As it neared them, it threw up a Protect and blocked them, tearing toward the ground.

 _No Flygon, no!_ Zara's mind screamed, but Flygon kept going. When it was within twenty feet of the ground it threw it's head back and blasted the ground with Flamethrower. The Pokemon, which turned out to be Sneasle, cried out in pain and scattered, and so did several of the humans.

Flygon screamed after them as they ran, then twisted out of its dive. The Mystic Pokemon turned back to the sky, lashing it's tail as it left the ground. Zara clung to its neck fiercly, her hear pounding like a drum in her chest.

 _Team Flare just tried to crash our plane. We have to stop them. We can't let them get away. But they'll hurt us if we do!_

 _I'm scared. But no one needs to know that._

 _...I wish Alain was here._

Flygon had finished its ascent, and had come to a stop just beside the open doorway. Steven and Wally both reached out toward her as Flygon approached, but Zara didn't reach back. She clung to her Pokemon's neck as her stomach knotted inside her.

"Zara! Get in the plane!" Steven shouted.

"Hurry!" Wally cried.

Zara only clung tighter to Flygon. Her eyes began to glaze over as thoughts swam through her head. _I shouldn't have come to Kalos. I thought we coud slip in without being noticed, but now, I'm not sure what's going to happen. One thing that is sure: I'm not safe here._

 _I don't want to keep running for my safety._

 _But I can't just let Team Flare keep hurting people. No one deserves to go through what I've been through. And they will if no one stops them. If I don't stop them._

 _I have to do something. But why do I have to get so close to danger to do it?_

 _I just want to be with Alain again. He'd keep me safe. He'd-_

As Zara hung in her state of thought, steadily the sounds around her began to lessen. At first she ignored it, but slowly the noise quieted untill it gave out altogether. Zara blinked and finally started to pull herself from her thoughts, when a scream cut through them, jerking her back to reality. She blinked her eyes rapidly to bring them back into focus, and discovered, to her horror, the plane had stopped and was plummiting at a fourty-five degree angle toward the ground.

"Flygon?" Flygon screamed again. The Ground and Dragon type twisted its head around to look at her oddly.

Zara stared at it for a second, as reality began to sink in, then shook her head and shouted, "Flygon, after them!"

Flygon jerked its head back around and bolted after the plane.

Wind sliced past Zara as Flygon dove, burning her cheeks and stinging her eyes. _I can't let fear distract me. I don't even know what happened to them to make the plane fall I was so caught up in my own wishes._

Flygon caught up to the plane and roared. Now Zara could see what the problem was. The propellers on the plane's wings were not turning, save for the little bit the wind moved them. _Some of the ice must have struck the wiring to those,_ Zara thought.

Steven and Wally were both still in the open door way, clutching the sides of the door. Wally looked like he was going to be sick. Steven shouted something to her, but it was lost in the wind.

 _I don't know what Flygon can do to help,_ Zara thought. _It can't hold the plane up, and it can't fix the wiring._ She glanced at the fast approching ground. _Wait a minute...it can break their fall._

"Flygon, Sand Tomb!" she cried.

Flygon lashed its tail, but didn't otherwise react.

 _It can't hear me!_ Zara thought, panic shooting through her.

She poked her Pokemon in the shoulder as hard as she could to get its attention. Flygon quickly flared its wings and pulled out of its dive, and as it did, the wind roaring in Zara's ears died out. Flygon turned its head to look at her as it leveled off, a question on its face.

"Get below the plane and then use Sand Tomb Flygon," Zara ordered. "Let's see if we can catch that plane before it crashes."

Flygon dipped its head and rolled back into its dive. This time it flapped its wings so hard they were nothing more than a blur of motion, and Zara had to hold on to its shoulders as tightly as she could to not be blown off.

Zara had to squint her eyes against the strong wind to see anything, but when she looked past Flygon at the plane and the ground, her stomach dropped. She'd know that stopping to give Flygon directions would put them behind the plane, she just hadn't realized how far the heavy metal aircraft would fall in such a short amount of time. Already it had dropped half of the distance from Flygon and the ground, and though Flygon was diving at speeds that could rival a Raquaza, the plane seemed to be falling even faster. Zara layed her head against her Pokemon's neck and willed it to go faster. The ground got closer and closer, but Zara couldn't watch. She screwed her eyes shut and let Flygon dive.

Seconds dragged by. Wind whipped past Zara's face, but she ignored it. _Come on Flygon, faster, faster!_

As if in responce to her thoughts, Flygon's wings hummed even faster. And suddenly, the Mystic Pokemon changed direction, sharply. Zara was nearly thrown off her Pokemon's back when it stopped, and here eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was the plane, directly beside them, still falling. The next thing she noticed was the ground, less than fifty feet below them.

"Sand Tomb!" Zara shouted without even thinking.

Flygon reared its head back, its eyes begining to glow a bright green. It raised one claw, then lashed it forward as if it was slicing at something. Below it, a small, brown tornado appeared, which quickly grew into a huge storm.

Zara leaned over her Pokemon's shoulder and watched the plane. It was still falling, straight for the Sand Tomb. _Please let that attack hold it up,_ Zara thought desperately.

The plane struck the top of the tornado, hard, and began to sink through the storm, its weight breaking up the weather formation.

Flygon roared and its eyes began to glow even more brightly. The Sand Tomb grew stronger, but still the plane sank through it toward the ground. Twenty feet, then ten, then five.

 _No!_ Zara thought desperately.

Suddenly, Flygon gave a strangled cry beneath her, and its Sand Tomb gave out. The plane dropped instantly to the ground, a resounding boom visibly shaking the trees around it.

Zara held her breath. _The plane didn't crash exactly, but are they still okay?_ There was no movement to indicate they were.

"Down, Flygon," Zara ordered. Flygon flew downward as fast as it could, exhaution starting to slow it down.

The Ground and Dragon type touched down about three yard from the plane. Zara jumped down from is back and dashed to the plane's side door. Somehow the door had closed between the time she'd seen it last and now. She raced up to it, and grabbing the handle, threw it open. _Please let them be okay._

And inside, spralled out on the floor, were Wally, Steven, and the pilot, all of them coughing and struggling to get up. The floor of the plane was covered with their luggage and sand, and some still hung in the air, hence the coughing from the three passengers.

Relief flooded through Zara. They were okay. They had all survived.

Steven rose first, and spotted her almost immediately. "Zara, you're alright!" he exclaimed.

Zara smiled weakly. "Your the one who went through a plane crash and you're asking if I'm alright?" she asked.

Steven only smiled back with a strained smile.

"Zara!" Wally shouted, then immediately began coughing.

"Oh no, an asthma attack! Someone find his bag!" Zara exclaimed. She jumped into the plane and began digging through the piles of suitcases and sand. Steven and the pilot turned quickly to other piles and began sifting through them.

After a moment, Steven located Wally's worn cross body bag and pulled out his inhaler. The green haired trainer took it and took a long breath from it. As he did, Zara steered him out of the plane into the clean air to keep the sand from bothering him again. The others followed behind them.

Once outside, the pilot began to walk around the plane. Zara glanced at him curiously before turning back to her friend. "Are you going to be okay, Wally?"

Wally nodded and he put the cap back on him inhaler. "Why dsaidhe propellers stop working?" he asked.

Zara looked to Steven, who said, "Why don't you ask our pilot?"

A loud exclamation of, "The fuel tank is punctured!" from the pilot at the back of the plane answered their question.

"Well," Steven said calmly, "I guess the only thing left to do is to walk to Lumiose."

Zara was about to ask how far it was when she remembered Team Flare was out in the woods around them. Walking there could prove dangerous.

"How far is it?" Wally asked.

"About ten minutes flying, so a twenty minute walk, as the Murkrow flies." Steven answered.

"So we could get there in fifteen if we rode our Pokemon," Zara reasoned. She tried to keep the fearful waver out of her voice.

"We could. Good point Zara," Steven said.

The pilot rejoined them with a disgusted look on his face. "I'm going to have to get a repair crew to work on this plane before it will run again."

"Then the sooner we get to Lumiose, the better," Zara said. She jumped into the plane and grapped her backpack and duffle, then jumped back out as quickly as she could.

"Why the big rush?" Steven asked pointedly.

"I just don't want those Pokemon to find us out here on the ground," Zara answered. Inwardly she grimaced and thought, _That's not why you want to get to Lumiose!_

 _I know that, but they don't need to._ She shoved the thought out of her mInd. "Let's get going before they find us." She took a step toward the surrounding woods, then looked back over her shoulder to find the others hadn't moved. "Please?"

Steven gave her a long look, then nodded his head. "We're coming." He climbed back into the plane and came out a moment later carrying a suitcase. Wally and the pilot followed silently and gathered their own things. One by one, the three released the Pokemon they planned to ride on and climbed on, Skarmory for Steven, Gallade for Wally, and a Rapidash for the pilot. Zara pulled a Pokeball from her pocket and tossed it, releasing her Sceptile. She clamored into its back, but not before it shot her a confused and concerned look.

"We'll talk about this later Sceptile," Zara told it quietly.

"Scep," Sceptile replied patiently.

"Ready?" Steven asked, addressing all three of the others.

They all nodded.

"Then let's go Skarmory," he said, patting his Pokemon's neck. Skarmory took off, with the pilot's Rapidash and Gallade close behind.

Zara gave the forest around them one last look before parting Sceptile's neck. The Grass type took off after the group, but Zara kept her gaze focused behind her.

 _The sooner we get to Lumiose, the sooner we find Team Flare, the sooner we get this over with. And the sooner things can go back to normal._

 _Team Flare...wherever you are...you won't capture me again. You won't capture anyone again. I won't let you._


	2. Arrival and Departure

Zara raised her hand and knocked three times on the white double doors before her. Beside her, Steven shifted from one foot to the other, and Wally tugged at his bag.

After they'd left the plane back in the woods, they'd rode their Pokemon for twenty minutes untill they'd come to the edge of Lumiose City. There they had recalled their Pokemon, and the pilot had left them, opting to find someone who could repair the plane rather than come with them. The three remaining trainers had, after that, wandered around Lumiose for the better part of half an hour, trying to find Professor Sycamore's laboratory. Though the building was a prominent one, Lumiose was large enough that finding anything except Prism Tower would be tricky, in Zara's opinion. But after asking several people for directions, they'd finally found the three story white building.

Zara shifted nervously from one foot to the other as she waited for a response to her knock. Though she'd tried hard to suppress it, she'd been continuously looking around them, watching for any signs of Team Flare the whole way to the lab. So far, nothing had turned up.

 _They could have just given up on us,_ she thought, again shifting to her other foot, but quickly switching back as pain shot through her leg from the burn she'd received earlier. _O_ _r they could be inside the lab right now, waiting for us. If they are..._

She shook her head, not wanting consider that possibility, and reached into her pocket. Inside, she touched her pokeballs one at a time, checking to ensure they were all still there. They were.

A click sounded in front of them, and Zara's attention flashed to the double doors. The knob on one of them was turning.

Involuntarily, Zara gripped the first pokeball her first pokeball her fingers touched.

The door opened slowly to reveal not Team Flare, but not Professor Sycamore or Mairin, or Alain either. Instead, a tall woman with short brown hair and blue eyes stood in the doorway. Zara paused for a moment and looked her over. Quickly she decided the woman wasn't in Team Flare. She wore nothing red at all, instead sporting a completely white outfit, shirt, shorts, and even the odd cape that hung from her shoulders. Giving a small sigh of relief, Zara drew her hand out of her pocket.

"Hello," the woman greeted immediately. Her voice was by no means cold, but her face stayed serious. "You must be Steven Stone."

"Yes, I am," Steven replied, his face too remaining serious.

"Come in, please," the woman said, stepping out of the doorway and gesturing for them to come in. Steven stepped in quickly, followed by a silent Wally. Zara followed them more slowly, keeping a wary eye on the woman as she came in. She knew no reason to distrust her, but neither did she have a reason to trust her. Yet.

As soon as they were all inside, the woman shut the door firmly. Turning to Steven, she said, "I apologize for the less than warm welcome. Lately, it's been a bit sketchy as to who is safe to trust and who isn't."

"It's alright, Diantha. That's going to happen," Steven answered.

"Diantha?" Wally said curiously. "Wait, she's the Kalos r-r-region's Champ-pion?"

Steven and Diantha both smiled. "Yes, I am," Diantha replied with a chuckle in her voice. "And who might you be?"

"I'm W-wally," he answered.

Diantha smiled. Turning to Zara she went on, "And you must be Steven's assistant, Zara."

Zara nodded and smiled back at her, though the smile felt a bit strained. "I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Champion," and she bowed respectfully.

"The pleasure is all mine," Diantha replied. "Now I hate to be blunt, but the Professor did wish to speak to you as soon as possible, so we need to-"

Diantha was cut off by a loud, "Hey, you're here!" and suddenly Mairin burst into the room, tripped, nearly fell, saved herself, and came to an unsteady stop beside Diantha. Moments later, Chesipe ran in after her, and jumped onto her shoulder.

"Steven! Zara!" Mairin cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "When did you get here? And Wally came too? Wow!"

"Just a few minute ago," Steven answered, a smile on his face.

"And yes, Wally came too," Zara said as evenly as she could, glancing down at Wally with a pointed look on her face. Wally ducked his head.

"Well that's great. Now we can play while the others talk!" Mairin said excitedly.

"Speaking of talking," Diantha interjected, "the Professor did say he wanted to speak to these two as soon as they got here, Mairin, so perhaps you should take Wally and go play now."

Mairin smiled and, reaching out to grab Wally's arm, pulled him toward the way she'd come in. "Come on Wally, I want to show you the habitat area!"

"Are th-there Pokemon in it?" Wally asked hopefully.

"Lots of them! And there all really nice, and you can pet them, and..." Mairin's voice trailed off as she rounded a corner, Wally in tow.

"Let's go," Diantha said as soon as they had left. She took off at a brisk pace down the hallway, into an elevator at the back of the building. All three trainers stepped inside and the doors closed behind them. Diantha pressed a button on the elevator's wall and it rumbled into motion.

Zara leaned back against the wall of the elevator, anticipation making her anxious. The elevator couldn't move fast enough for her. She wanted to get to Professor Sycamore as soon as she could and hear what he had to say, but at the same time, she feared what he was going to tell them. Considering the fact that they'd been attacked by Team Flare on the way here and there had been no one trying to stop the grunts, she guessed it wasn't good news.

 _You can't back out now. After all, you were the one who insisted on coming. You knew the risks you were walking into, so put on a brave face and keep going. And be thankful you're still alright._

She let her head drop back against the wall, and her eyes fell shut.

"Zara," Diantha said, breaking the silence, "what happened to your arm?"

Zara rolled her head forward to find Diantha staring at her forearm. Looking down, she saw the cut she'd gotten from the falling ice. By now the bleeding had stopped, it no longer stung, and a scab had formed, but it still looked painful. "It's nothing, just a scratch," she answered as light-heartedly as possible.

"Are you sure? How did you get it?" Diantha asked, creased forming on her forehead.

Zara only shrugged and replied, "I had to get my Pokemon to break some ice off of our plane, and some of the falling pieces cut me. It's nothing serious."

At this, Diantha's eyebrows shot up. "You had to break some ice off your plane?" she questioned, looking from Zara to Steven.

"We had an encounter with a horde of wild Ice types who, it seems, didn't like us flying over their territory," Steven answered. "They managed to crash our plane, but as you can see, we're all fine."

Zara looked down at the floor but said nothing.

Diantha closed her eyes and sighed. "That explains why you didn't arrive at the airport." Looking back up, she went on, "Do you have any idea why these Pokemon were attacking your plane?"

Steven shook his head. Zara kept silent, biting her tongue and trying to keep her hands from shaking by gripping her pant legs.

Just then, the elevator stopped, and the doors retracted, revealing another hallway almost identical to the one on the first story.

Diantha stepped briskly out into the hallway, Steven following her. Zara followed, but more slowly, fear begining to make her want to run.

"I'm sorry your trip here was so difficult," Diantha began again, "normally Ice types don't come this far down from the mountains. But it wouldn't be the first strang thing that's happened lately."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

Diantha stopped in front of an open door and, turning to face Steven, replied, "I'll let Professor Sycamore answer that one." Extending a hand through the doorway, she stepped aside to let them inside. Steven stepped in, and, after a moment of hesitation, Zara followed after him.

Inside was a brightly lit room filled with equipment for, Zara assumed, researching Mega Evolution. She couldn't help but stare at all the desks, tables, bookshelves, and several other surfaces covered in books, papers, file folders, and, most noticible, various Mega Stones. On the back wall of the room were mounted several computer screens, all showing different charts and graphs. And in front of the wall of monitors stood Professor Sycamore and Alain.

Steven stepped past Diantha and into the room slowly, Zara directly behind him, but the two at the monitors didn't notice him. After a moment of silence, Steven cleared his throat.

The professor and Alain both started slightly and turned toward the doorway. Spotting Steven almost immediately, Professor Sycamore dipped his head respectfully. "Oh, hello Steven. Sorry, I didn't see you come in."

Steven nodded respectfully in return and replied, "It's fine."

"Thank you for coming to help us. I'm afraid our situation isn't looking good."

"What's happened?" Steven asked.

Professor Sycamore hesitated. Zara suddenly didn't want to know what he was going to say.

Diantha came into the room behind them and stood at the professor's side. "It seems that Lysander got back to his Labs before Professor Sycamore was able to contact me about them."

"Meaning?" Steven prompted.

"Team Flare has disapeared," Professor Sycamore stated, his face grave.

"Disapeared?" Steven repeated, sounding as baffled as Zara felt.

"Yes, disapeared. When Mairin, Alain, and myself arrived back in the Kalos region, we alerted Diantha and the Elite Four as well as the police station of what had happened at the school. We explianed the whole incident over the phone at the airport. Diantha took several of the police officers and went out to Lysander Labs within two hours of our call. But when they arrived, the lab was empty."

"Empty?" This time Zara repeated Professor Sycamore in confusion.

"Deserted. We searched the entire building from top to bottom, but we didn't find anything. Not a single human being," Diantha replied. "What's even more disturbing is that none of their equipment was running. Everything that was there was in it's place, no mess made in hurried confusion to leave. All the lights and all their computers were turned off or unplugged. And the one's that we could turn back on were wipped clean."

"So they didn't just get up and run at the last minute," Steven said thoughtfully.

"They knew we were coming," Alain said. Zara looked at him to find his eyes burning with anger.

"So you didn't find anything to tell us where they went?" Steven asked urgently.

"I'm afraid not. They were very thorough when they cleaned up the place," Professor Sycamore said sadly. "Unfortunately they didn't leave the Kalos region the way they left their lab."

"Hm?" Steven tipped his head to one side.

"For the last several days," Diantha began, "we've been getting reports from all over central Kalos about people in red suits attacking trainers, destroying property, and stealing things. We can only assume that they are members of Team Flare. We have alerted all the gym leaders in the region to be on their guard and to protect their towns and cities, but still, just watching out for them won't stop them from doing whatever they plan to do."

"So you're going to go after them, right?" Zara questioned.

Diantha dropped her gaze. "I should, but everytime I leave the city, even if it's just a mile or two outside the limits, another attack occurs. They want me to leave so they can have an easy chance at destroying something here. I want to go after them, but it seems I cannot without putting the lives of the people of Lumiose City in danger."

"And that is why your presence is so importaint, Steven," Professor Sycamore said.

"How so?" Steven asked.

"With two Champions in our region, it would alow one of you to remain here in Lumiose and protect it, while the other searches for Team Flare and stops them." Here the Professor paused and grew solemn. "I don't want to ask you to do this Steven, but under the circumstances, I'm afraid we may not have any other choice."

"I'll go," Steven replied firmly.

Relief seemed to spread across both Professor Sycamore's and Diantha's faces. "Then it's settled. When did you want to leave-"

Professor Sycamore stopped suddenly as the computer monitors behind him flickered and switched from the charts they previously showed to a audio symbol. A voice that sounded like it belonged to a young girl crackled over the computer's speakers. "Hello? Hello?" the girl repeated again and again, her voice steadily rising in pitch.

 _What in the world?_ Zara wondered.

Professor Sycamore flew to the keyboard and tapped a few keys.

"Hello!?" the girl asked again, sounding close to tears.

"Hello, Professor Sycamore here. What's the matter?" the Professor asked hurriedly.

"Someone just attacked my house!" the girl on the other end cried, filling the room with her shrill, scared voice. "They had stole some of my mom's Pokemon, and took her books with them, and they took her too, and I don't know where they went, and..." and the girl suddenly broke down crying.

Professor Sycamore waited a moment before saying, "What's your name, child?"

"I-I'm Talia. I'm eleven, and I live in Santalune City. Please help me," Talia sniffed on the other end of the line. "I took my mom's Holocaster to call you. She left it in the house when they took her."

Zara felt grief well up inside her like a flood. _They just attacked her for no reason. And now her mom is gone._ Thoughts surfaced in her mind unbidden, and suddenly a memory of the explosion that had killed her parents filled her mind.

 _They can't get away with this. No one should ever have to go through what I went through ever again. We have to rescue her mom._

Sounds of Talia crying began to fill the room again, and memories of Zara doing the same thing to a group of wild Pokemon years ago filled her mind. She screwed her eyes shut and fought to repress a shudder, fighting it for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, Alain was looking at her with a almost blank look, though Zara thought she detected a hint of concern deep in his eyes. He looked away after a moment, and Zara turned back to the screens.

All three of the adults exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, Steven nodded firmly to the Professor and said clearly in an authoritative voice, "Talia, my name is Steven, and I'll come and help you."

Talia's crying slowed to a halt and she sniffed again. "You will?" she asked in a choked voice.

"Yes, I'll come right away. Where are you now?"

"I'm in Santalune Forest, by the biggest oak tree, the one with all the Scatterbug in it."

Steven faltered for a moment, and under different circumstances Zara might have laughed at his reaction to the young girl's directions. "I'll be there as fast as I can Talia," the Champion replied firmly after a moment.

For a moment the only sound that could be heard over the computer was Talia's steadying breathing. Then suddenly, a loud crack rang over the speakers. "Oh no, they found me!" Talia whispered frantically.

Professor Sycamore looked ready to ask what she meant, but then several voices sounded over the speakers. "Stop!" one yelled, and another shouted, "Get her, Houndour!"

The sound of footsteps pounding against the ground and of Talia's heavy breathing burst through the sound system, and it became evident that whoever was chasing her was much faster. Soon someone yelled, "Got ya!", someone, probably Talia, screamed, and there was a loud thud. Seconds later, the call ended.

Zara stared at the computer screens, rooted in place. _Is Talia okay? Did they catch her? Who was chasing her?_ The last question seemed too obvious: Team Flare. _But what do they want with an eleven year old girl?_

 _That doesn't matter right now. What does matter is some one needs to-_

"I'm going to find her," Steven stated.

Professor Sycamore didn't reply, save for a firm nod.

As Zara watched him go, she suddenly felt the urge to go with him. She had to know if Talia and her mom were alright. But as she opened her mouth to tell him to wait up, she shifted her weight to her injured leg. It screamed with pain, and she closed her mouth immediatly. _I'm in no condition to go with him. I'll probably just slow him down._ As she reached this conclusion in her mind, her body seemed to relax a bit.

Diantha, Professor Sycamore, Alain and Zara all followed Steven down to the entrance of the labs. When they reached the door, Professor Sycamore stopped Steven and handed him a small blueish device. "It's a Holocaster. So we can keep in touch."

Steven took the offered device wordlessly and tucked it into his pocket. Then he turned and marched down the street to the south. Toward Santalune Forest.

 _Be careful, Steven,_ Zara thought as she watched him go. Even though she knew better than most how capable a trainer Steven was, she still worried. Lysander wasn't someone to be fooling around with. He knew what he was doing. _Be careful, please._

She and the other three with her stood in the doorway untill buildings blocked their view of the Champion. As he disapeared, Diantha stated, "I should prepare for an attack." Without waiting for a responce, she swept away the way Steven had gone.

Silence settled over the group once again. After a moment, Professor Sycamore whispered, "I hope he finds her." When Zara looked up at him, she realized his eyes held a far away look as he stared after Diantha.

Zara looked back at the retreating form of the Kalos Champion. Unbidden, sounds of Talia crying and screaming filled her mind. She fought them, but that only seemed to make it worse. And slowly, deeper, harsher memories of her own similar experience poured in. She screwed her eyes shut and fought for control, only barely managing to repress shudders and tears.

 _Mom, Dad? What happened? Where are they, Treeko? Who were those people? What did they do with my parents?_

 _I'm scared._ Zara didn't know if the statement was a memory or a present thought, but it was true however she looked at it. A tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly swipped it away. _What if they come back for me?_

Suddenly, she felt a hand gripping her arm at the wrist. She yanked her arm away involuntarily, turning promptly to face whoever had grabbed her, and raising her arms in a defensive position.

It was Alain who stood looking back at her, surprise written all over his face.

He didn't say anything to her reaction, only eyed her carefully for a moment. Zara quickly relaxed her definsive posture and dropped her eyes to the ground. "Sorry, Alain, I just...didn't..." She trailed off, unwilling to clarify, and fighting back tears

He still didn't reply. When she looked back up at him, she found him studying his hand. There were traces of blood on his fingertips.

Alarm shot through Zara. "What did you do to yourself?" she nearly cried.

Slowly he looked up at her, and into her eyes. "It's your blood."

Zara's face turned puzzled for a moment. She looked down at her arm where he had grabbed her and quickly her confusion turned to understanding. He had taken hold of her where the scab along her forearm had formed, and had unintentionally broken it open again.

"What happened?" Alain asked firmly. His voice sounded authoritative, demanding an answer.

Zara dropped her gaze again. _I don't mind telling you, but not here. Not where Professor Sycamore can hear._ Taking a deep breath, she replied, "I got it clearing some ice off of our plane."

"How did you-?" Professor Sycamore began.

Zara held up a hand to stop him. "Some Ice type Pokemon attacked us on the way here, so someone had to clear the ice off the wings of the plane, or we would have crashed." Pulling the best smile she could manage, she added, "You know I'm the best girl for the job."

Professor Sycamore's lips twitched in a smile, but otherwise he didn't react. Alain, on the other hand, retained his firm gaze on her. Zara refused to look at him. "So, what do we do while the two Champions handle Talia's problem?" she asked to change the subject.

"Well, first we'll bandage that arm. Then I suppose we just stay in the control room and wait for another call to come in," the Professor replied. "I think I have some bandages in the supply closet. Come with me, Zara."

He headed inside, and Zara followed him, Alain coming right behind her. Even though Zara couldn't see Alain's face, she could feel his eyes boring into her. _I'll tell you as soon as we're alone._

Professor Sycamore found the bandages and some cleansing alchohol, and soon Zara's arm had a clean white bandage wrapped around it. "There we are, good as new," the Professor said when he finished.

"Thanks Professor," Zara said, feeling the bandaged area. "So now we just go up and watch the comupter for more calls?"

Before Professor Sycamore could answer, Alain stepped closer to her and layed a hand on her shoulder. "May we talk? Alone?"

"Sure, go ahead. I can handle the control center by myself for a while," Professor Sycamore answered.

Alain took Zara's other arm and gently pulled her toward the back of the building. Zara followed him quietly at first, but when the Professor was out of earshot, she said, "Alain, I'm sorry for jerking away from you, I was thinking about-"

She never got a chance to finish her sentence. As soon as she said this, Alain stopped and turned toward her, pushing her gently against the wall. He leaned in close and captured her lips with his, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her against him. Zara stiffened in surprise at first, but slowly her eyes closed and her hands found their way up to his face and into his messy hair.

Too soon, Alain pulled back, his breathing heavy as he panted for air. "I missed you," he whispered between breaths.

Zara stared back at him for a moment before lunging forward and hugging him as tightly as she could. "I missed you too," she replied as she buried her face in his scarf. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him, and the security and love he gave her untill now. Suddenly she couldn't hold back the flood of emotion anymore, and sobs started pour out. Her crying grew harder untill her whole body shook with her sobs.

Alain only held her tighter at this. "What happened to you?" he asked firmly.

"Te-Team Flare," Zara choked out.

Alain's hold on her tightened further as he tensed. "What did they do?" he demanded.

Zara pushed herself closer against him, and worked to steady her breathing. When she calmed down, she said, "Not in here."

Alain wordlessly pulled away from her and taking her good arm, lead her through the building and outside into what Zara assumed to be the habitat area. She quickly discovered she was correct; toward the back of the area, Mairin and Wally were playing tag with several Marill and Azurill.

Alain continued to lead her through the habitat untill they reached a couple of thick maple trees that grew right next to each other. He lead her around the trees, and Zara was suprised to discover that here their roots grew to form a small hollow. Alain sat down in front of the opening the roots created and gestured for Zara to sit between them. She sat down, and looking up, got her first good look at his face. The look it held startled her. The burning anger from before was back, and possibly more intense than last time.

"What happened," Alain asked again, his voice hard.

Before Zara could say anything, a flash of light burst from her pocket, and quick as a blink Sceptile appeared beside its trainer. "Scep Sceptile!" it cried, looking at Zara both indignantly and concerned.

Zara took a quick glance around to make sure Wally and Mairin weren't in earshot, then after making Sceptile settle down next to the trees, explained the whole story from the first hit their plane had taken to arriving at the Professor's doorstep. She kept her head down as she spoke, and by the time she had finished, her hands were shaking. Sceptile scooted closer to her as she spoke, keeping a worried gaze on her the whole time.

When she finished recounting the story, she looked up at Alain. His head was bowed, and upon further inspection, Zara noticed his hands were clenched. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Tile?" Sceptile asked, cocking its head toward the dark haired trainer.

Alain didn't reply. Slowly he rose to his feet and walked a few steps away.

"Alain?" Zara continued.

Alain gave his head a quick shake and turned back toward Zara. "It's nothing."

Zara was pretty sure it wasn't nothing, but she didn't want to pry. "Alright, if your sure."

Alain nodded. Slowly he walked back over to the trees and sat back down where he'd been a few minutes ago.

Silence fell for a few minutes. Zara finally broke it with, "So, do you think Steven will be able find Talia and her mom?" Much as she didn't want to think about the whole mess, she found she couldn't help herself.

"Probably. I wouldn't worry," Alain answered.

Zara smiled her first genuine smile of the day. She reached over a root and scratched Sceptile's head, and it crooned happily.

A rush of wind blew down from above the three, and steadily Charizard lowered itself from above. As it landed next to its trainer, Sceptile gave a challenging growl, though Zara could tell it was smiling. Charizard gave it a look and snorted.

Zara chuckled a little, and Alain smiled a small smile. As she continued to laugh at the two Pokemon's antics, Alain slowly extended his hand and grasped hers. Her attention snapped from the Pokemon to his face. He didn't say anything; neither did she, but somehow they didn't need to. His eyes spoke things that words couldn't have said. That he loved her, that this moment was perfect.

 _This is why I came to Kalos,_ Zara thought.

"Sceptile," Sceptile said quietly. Charizard put on what Zara assumed to be a knowing look.

The peace came to an abrupt end when across the habitat a huge spash sounded, followed by a frantic, "Che che che!"

Alain leaned around the tree, then jumped to his feet crying, "Mairin!"

Zara scrambled to her feet and raced after him. As soon as she rounded the tree, she saw what had happened. Mairin lay, face down, in the pond, bubbles forming where her head was submerged.

Alain dashed into the water, heedless of getting wet, and tugged Mairin out of the pond. Carrying her to dry land, he put her down on the grass.

Zara hurried up to Wally and asked, "What happened here?"

"She and I, a-a-nd the P-pokemon were pl-playing tag, and we got t-too close to the w-w-water and she tripped, and..." Wally trailed off as Zara held up a hand to stop him. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Is she okay?" Zara asked Alain.

Alain nodded. "Next time," he said, adressing Mairin, "stay away from the water."

"Chespin!" Chespie agreed, jumping back on her shoulder.

"Hey, all I did was get wet!" Mairin insisted indignently. "It won't happen again."

"Sure, it won't," Alain said sarcastically, the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips.

"Don't take that tone with me," Mairin grummbled. Zara struggled to keep from laughing. "Come on Chespie, let's get back to our game!" And with that, she leaped to her feet, and took off after a fleeing Azurill. She'd barely gone ten steps before she tripped on a tree branch, and flew headlong back into the pond.

Zara had the girl's name on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it when Mairin landed. As she hit the surface of the water, a huge crash sounded that felt like it shook the ground. For a moment, Zara froze, wondering how in the world Mairin had caused such a huge sound. Then she realized it couldn't have been Mairin's doing. The sound came from outside the habitat.

Mairin raised her head out of the water and asked quickly, "That wasn't me, was it?"

"No," Alain answered.

"W-what was it?" Wally answered nervously.

Another boom split the air, shaking the tree tops. Off to the south, a cloud of smoke began to billow above the skyline.

"Oh no," Zara breathed.

"I've got to get out there and find out what's going on," Alain said firmly, taking two steps toward the entrance to the habitat.

"No!" Both Mairin and Zara shouted at the same time.

He turned back to them with a puzzled look on his face.

"It could be dangerous!" Mairin cried. "Shouldn't you stay in here where it's safe?"

Alain gave her a hard look. "They've got to be stopped." He turned away again.

"Who has to be stopped? What do you mean?" Mairin asked. Alain didn't answer.

"Wait!" Zara said again. Alain turned back again and cocked his head curiously, if not a bit impatiently. "Diantha went out to prepare for an attack. This is probably what she was waiting for. Just let her handle it. We don't need to get in her way." _And I don't want you getting hurt. Please just stay here._

Alain hesitated, looking from the smoke to Zara and back again. Finally he sighed, "Alright."'

Zara let out a breath she never realized she'd been holding.

"What should we do then?" Alain asked her.

Zara thought about it. "Wait here untill we hear from Diantha or Steven. That way we can go straight where we're needed, if they do need us."

Alain nodded.

The four stayed in the habitat for another hour, Wally and Mairin playing, Alain and Charizard lying around, Zara and Sceptile swinging in the trees. They didn't hear anything from either Champion.

Untill they heard Steven's Metagross crying its name toward the front of the building.

Instantly, Zara was in the ground, and Alain was on his feet, both recalling their Pokemon and running for the labs. They tore through the building, untill they reached the front room. And there stood a bedraggled looking Steven and Diantha, and Professor Sycamore. Both of them looked completely defeated.

"What happened?" Zara exclaimed when she saw them.

"Someone attacked us," Diantha answered. "They launched an attack on two different locations at the same time, and destroyed several buildings. We were lucky they attacked so close to us; I was afraid I wouldn't get there in time."

"The strange thing is that we never saw anyone," Steven continued. "I never set eyes on a single person in red."

"Neither did I," Diantha agreed.

"Do you think it wasn't Team Flare that attacked?" the Professor asked.

"Who else would it be?" Alain asked.

No one had an answer for that.

"Whoever it was, they were watching the city closely. They knew I was here, and they knew I was leaving," Steven said. "We need a better plan than simply trying to overpower them. Innocent people could get hurt this way."

"Any ideas?" Diatha asked.

No one answered.

"We still have to do something to help Talia and her mother," Professor Sycamore said firmly.

"Well there isn't anything we can do right now with our attackers still watching the city," Steven affirmed.

"We need to find them and get rid of them first, then we can go out and find Talia and help her without any chance of something going wrong here," Diatha stated. "Whoever is behind this, they must be our first priority. Otherwise, we'll never get outside the city limits without something else going on inside them."

Steven and Professor Sycamore nodded their agreement. Zara, however, felt like deflated ballon. "We can't just let Team Flare get away like that!" she insisted.

"We can't just leave all the people of Lumiose City either," Diatha said wearily. Zara could tell she wasn't happy about her choice.

"Then let me go," Zara whipped her head around to face Alain. Had he actually just said that?

"No, Alain. I will not give you permission to go after them," Professor Sycamore said firmly.

"Why not? I can stop them! Someone has to!" Alain demanded.

"I apreciate your concern, but if you tried to leave it would just have the same results and Steven. Someone would see you and another attack would be launched. And we don't have the strength to take another attack. Help us find the people starting these attacks and then you might be able go out with Steven or Diantha."

Alain shut his mouth and stayed silent, but it didn't take a genius to tell he wasn't happy about it. Inwardly, Zara breathed a sigh of relief.

 _But what about Talia?_ her mind asked her. She shoved the thought away, unwilling to consider it for fear of crying again.

"The best thing we can do now," Diantha stated, "is to go out and look for whoever is causing these attacks. I'll look on the south side of town after I stop at the Pokemon Center."

"I'll look on the north side," Steven said, "and I'll work my way around to you."

"Make sure you check all of the back alleys," Professor Sycamore advised.

"We will," Diantha assured.

"I'll look on the west side," Alain said. Both Steven and Diantha nodded to him. The three trainers moved toward the door.

"I'll go east then?" Zara suggested.

Alain turned back to her. "You should stay here."

"No, I need to help too. The faster we get these people elimiated, the sooner we can go help Talia, right?"

"You should probably stay here, Zara," Steven agreed. Zara threw him a look that she hoped said "You're not helping". Steven held up his hands. "If any of us need backup, you and Professor Sycamore can come help us."

Zara opened her mouth to protest, but Steven shot her a look that made her swallow her words. "Alright," she mumbled. Though she was happy not to be out where Team Flare could find her, she wanted to help Talia with her whole heart. _I can't let what happened to me happen to that little girl! No one should have to go through something like this, like she's going through._

 _Like what I'm still going through. I want Team Flare desroyed. That is the only way I'll be truly safe. I want to get out there and stop them_

 _Even now I might not be safe. If there are grunts who can slip around Lumiose and attack whole buildings without being seen, they could go anywhere and no one would be able to stop them. They might even be watching us right now._

That thought sent shivers up her spine. "Alright, I'll stay here," she repeated with more conviction. "But please, be careful."

"Yes, be careful," the Professor agreed.

"We will," Diantha assured them, and with that, the three trainers left for the Pokemon Center.

"Well, Zara," Professor Sycamore said when they were gone, "would you like to come to the control room with me?"

Much as Zara wanted to be the first to know if a call for help came in, she wasn't sure she could take being in the room where Talia's call had come in without having a guilty conscience. "I...I don't-"

"Zara, what's going on?" It was Mairin who asked the question as she stepped cautiously around the corner. "What caused the smoke cloud?"

Zara stared at the green-haired trainer for a moment before answering Professor Sycamore, "I think I'll go back outside. You'll tell me if you hear anything, right?"

"Of course," he answered, then headed for the elevator.

Zara bent down so she could look Mairin in the eye. "Where's Wally?"

"Right here." And the young trainer stepped around a corner.

Zara waved hiim closer. "Well, it seems the smoke cloud came from several people causing trouble around Lumiose City."

"R-really? What did they do?"

"Vandalized a few buildings I think. But Steven, Diantha, and Alain are tracking them down to bring them to justice. Just, I need to ask you a favor."

"Sure."

"Steven said these people are good at slipping in and out without being seen, so if you see anyone around here who looks suspicous, tell someone immediately, okay?"

"Right," Mairin said.

"G-got it," Wally affirmed.

"Good. Now, do you think your Marill friends would mind if I joined your game of tag?"

"Of course not!" Mairin said gleefully.

Zara smiled. "Let's go find out."

She spent the next several hours playing with the Pokemon in the habitat area, and trying to drowned her worries. It didn't truly work, especially every now and then when she would hear a explosion in the distance, and would think of Talia. The times she thought of the eleven year old grew more and more frequent untill she started worrying about what had happened to her.

 _What if Team Flare really did capture her and started hurting her for information? Or worse, what if they hurt her to get information out of her mom? And all I'm doing is waiting here to be backup. And playing. How can anyone play at a time like this!_

 _What if she did get away and is hiding? What if-_

"I said your 'it', Zara!" Mairin exclaimed, shaking Zara's arm.

Zara snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at the red-headed girl. "Oh, sorry Mairin. If I'm 'it', you'd better run!"

Mairin dashed off across the habitat.

 _Someone has to find Talia,_ Zara thought as she watched Mairin go. _Someone has to stop Team Flare_.

 _Even if that someone has to be me._

With that, she made up her mind. "Wally, Mairin, I think I'm going to check on the Professor."

Mairin gave a big, "Aw!" but Wally only nodded to her.

Zara headed inside and through the halls to the elevator. Her head swam. She felt lost in a sea of thoughts. So much so, that she didn't see Alain untill she ran smack into him.

As soon as it registerd who she'd run into, she grabbed his arm and asked hopefully, "Did you find them?"

Alain looked back at her gravely. Zara knew the answer without him saying anything. "We looked everywhere. No one to be found."

Zara's heart sank to her feet. "Now what do we do?"

Alain didn't answer. His face was cold and hard.

Zara stepped closer to him and took his hand in hers. "I'm scared, Alain. What's going to happen to Talia? What's going to happen to us? What if we don't find Team Flare and stop them before they attack more people."

Alain squeezed her hand. "Nothing is going to happen to you," he said firmly.

Zara took a deep breath and leaned against him. "Then someone has to do something."

"I'm going to find them."

Zara looked back up at him, startled. "You're what?"

I'm going to find them," he repeated.

"How? No one can get outside the city limits."

"I'll find a way."

Zara clutched his arm. Half of her wanted to protest, to demand he stay here where it was safe and let the Champions take care of the problem. Demand he stay here with her untill all of this was over and they were safe. But deep down she knew that wasn't what needed to be done. And somehow, she didn't believe her begging Alain to stay would change his mind anyway. And if he was going...

"Then I'm coming with you," she stated, her voice steadier than she felt.

He looked down at her with a surprised look. "No."

"What?" Zara stared at him, confused. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean, you can't come."

"Why not?" Somehow, Zara couldn't believe she was having this argument.

"Because you'll be in great danger if you do."

"I'll still be in danger if I stay here. Do you not remember there are Team Flare people slipping around Lumiose that no one can find, much less catch? How does that make it safer here than out there?"

Alain looked away from her. "This isn't your mistake to fix." Without another word, he stepped past her and marched toward the elevator.

Zara only watched him go, trying to make sense of what he'd said. _Not my mistake to fix? It isn't his either. It's not like he caused Lysander to decide to hurt all these people or attack the Mega Evolution School or...carry out whatever he's planning now._

She pushed the thought away and started after him, stepping into the elevator just before it closed. Silence fell between them, unbroken and empty.

When the elevator doors opened, both trainers stepped out and walked to Professor Sycamore's control room. Alain entered first, and marched up to the tall scientist. "I need to go find Team Flare," he said, cutting straight to the point.

"And I'm going with him," Zara blurted. Alain didn't react to her words.

"Alain, I already explained to you why you can't leave," Professor Sycamore replied.

"I'll find a way. I have to!" Alain burst out.

The Professor studied him for a moment. "Perhaps you would, Alain. But what if you didn't? I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want to lose you again."

Those words cut straight to Zara's heart, and it suddenly occurred to her just how close the Professor and Alain had been before he'd left on his journey.

Alain, however, remained steadfast. "I can't stop untill I get back what I lost."

The Professor hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Do what you need to. But stay in touch and be careful."

"I will," Alain affirmed.

"So, I'm going with him?" Zara ventured, stressing the words _so_ and _going_.

The Professor turned to her. "I can't answer that for you, Zara."

Zara looked at the ground and traced the floor with the toe of her shoe. "Well, you could, if you really wanted to. I mean, it would save me a lot of trouble, and we could get started faster, and Steven wouldn't get angry with you about it."

"He probably would," Professor Sycamore replied.

"You could still say yes," Zara mumbled.

"Say yes to what?" a woman asked.

Zara looked down the hall to see Diantha and Steven walking up it. "Any luck?" she asked hopefully.

Both Champions shook their heads. "Now, what are we saying yes to?" Diantha asked again.

"Say yes, and I'll tell you," Zara said coily.

"She wants to go after Team Flare," Professor Sycamore said behind her.

For a moment, Steven looked startled. Then his face grew stern. "No, you are not alowed to go after them."

"Why not?" Zara protested. Again, she could hardly believe she was having this argument. _But if it means I'm doing something to stop them and not just sitting here...And if it means I can stay with Alain..._

"Because it's too dangerous. Your strong Zara, I know that, but this is very serious. If anything happened to you..." he trailed off, searching for words, "...where would I find another assistant?"

"I'm sure you'd find someone. This is serious, Steven, I know that! People out there are getting hurt, and all I'm doing is sitting here! Someone has to do something, and soon!"

"We are doing something, Zara."

"Yeah, and a whole lot of good it's doing," Zara snapped, a bit more harshly than she meant to.

Steven and Diantha both looked taken aback. "Do you have a plan we need to know about?" Steven prompted her. "Some way to get past these grunts? Because if you do, you need to tell us, so we can all try and get out of the city."

Zara looked away from him. "No," she whispered.

"Then stay here, where it is safe for you, untill we do have a plan that you can help with." The way Steven said it, Zara knew the answer was final. "Please," he added more gently.

"Then don't let Alain go," she pleaded.

Steven looked past her to Professor Sycamore, who shrugged. "That's not my decision," Steven stated.

Zara sighed but didn't say a word. She stayed rooted to the spot as one by one all four of the trainers left the area. Alain was the last to go, and as he left, he gave her a look that told her wasn't sorry she had to stay behind.

Anger filled her at the sight. _Doesn't he know how importaint this is to me?_ _Doesn't he understand? I thought he understood what I'd been through, where I stand._

 _What does he want me to do? Wait here like a sitting duck? Is that what they all want? I couldn't take that, I'd go crazy first. Too much time to think, not enough to do. I have to help stop Team Flare._

 _But they won't let me leave..._

 _So I leave when they won't be able to stop me._

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Alain opened his eyes as he lay in his bedroom. The clock on his desk read ten fifty. Moonlight poured in the window. _Time to go._

He tossed the covers off of himself, revealing his usual clothing instead of pajamas. He grabbed his pack from the foot of the bed and strapped around his waist, then stepped as quietly as he could to the door. Opening it, he slipped out and walked down the hallway. Past Professor Sycamore's room, where he and Mairin were asleep, past the guest room where Steven slept, past the living room the Professor and created for himself and his workers where Wally slept on the couch and Zara lay in a sleeping bag, and to the elevator.

He stepped in and his the first floor button. The doors rumbled closed and the machine slowly decended. When the doors opened at the bottom, he got out and walked straight to the entrance.

At the doorway, however, he paused. Then he looked back.

 _Zara, why did you have to come?_ he asked himself. _Why couldn't you have stayed in Hoenn where you would have been safe from Lysander? Why couldn't you have stayed out of this. Perhaps Team Flare did hurt you, perhaps you deserve to fight back, but I don't want you to. I want you to be safe._

 _I want everyone to be safe._ His mind moved to Mairin. He almost wished he could have left her back in Hoenn as well, much as he knew it would break her heart. But she was in danger here, and he wasn't sure he would be able to protect her. Or Zara. Or the Professor.

He had to do this alone, untill he was strong enough to protect them all. Only then could they come with him.

 _I'll miss you, Zara. Be here for me when I come back, please._

With that thought, he turned dutifully back to the brightly lit streets of Lumiose and plunged out the door.

Walking quietly, ducking through allies and staying out of the glare of street lights, he made his way to the city limits. Nothing happened. He didn't see anyone, and heard only a few ally Purloin digging through trash and such. Once he reached the limits, he ran from the last building to the nearest clump of trees and dove into them. Staying down, he waited.

One minute passed. Then two. Then ten. Then twenty. No one came racing out of the city after him. No explosions. No yelling, even.

He'd made it.

Rising to his feet, he turned and walked on as quietly as he could, ducking between clumps of trees and tall grass. _As soon as I get far enough away from Lumiose City, I'll find a place to spend the rest of the night. Then tomorrow I'll head toward Santalune City. And I'll find that girl Team Flare kidnapped._

To his left, a bush rustled. Alain jerked in the direction of the sound and peered intently into the darkness. Nothing.

He brushed it off. _I wonder where Lysander is now. Probably hiding somewhere, trying to pull his operations back together._

Again, a bush rustled, closer this time. Alain whirled around to find the source of the sound and dug in his bag for a flashlight. Before he could find the light, everything grew silent again.

This time, Alain stepped up to a tree and pressed his back to it. He reached for Charizard's pokeball, and let it expand in his hand when he found it.

Another bush rustled, this time coming from the other side of his tree. Cautiously, Alain peered around the trunk. On the other side stood a human being. They were so close, Alain could have reached out and touched him or her. If he or she turned toward him, they would undoubtably see him.

He could let them find him. But trying to get away would be impossible like this. Breathing too hard might give him away.

Taking another look at the person, he sized them up. They were smaller than him; he figured he could pin them to the ground without them getting away or making too much noise.

Taking on step around the tree, he gave the person one final look and lunged at them. One hand covered their mouth, the other arm grabbed them around the waist and held them tightly.

For a moment, everything was a blur. The other person's first reaction was to bite his hand. While they only bit down of the fabric of his glove, it still hurt. He grunted at the pain and squeezed tighter at their mouth. Then they started flailing, trying to strike him with both their arms and their legs. As the person struggled, Alain managed to pin them to the tree, keeing them facing away from him. But as he did so, the person landed a square blow to his knee, and to his astomishment, it nearly exploded with pain and gave out beneath him. He tumbled to the ground, gasping for air to keep from yelling in pain. When he hit the ground, his head struck somethig hard, and he saw stars.

Screwing his eyes shut, he lay still untill the points of light in his vision faded away, a soft groan escaping him. There was no point in getting up: whoever he'd been trying to catch would be long gone by now. All he could do now was-

"Alain?"

Alain jerked his eyes open. Zara stood over him, staring back at him with, as far as he could tell in the dark, concern.

"What are you doing here!" he said in a harsh whisper.

"What do you think I'm doing!" she whispered back. "I'm coming with you!"

"I already told you to stay in Lumiose!"

Zara looked away. "I can't just sit in there and do nothing."

"Helping the Professor is not nothing."

"I know, but..." she trailed off. "I just...Alain please, I have to stop them! When Talia called earlier, I...I...I felt like it was me. That everything that happened before was happening again, just not to me. That Team Flare was attacking again, and I was still powerless to stop them. But I'm not! I'm capable of much more. And I won't just sit around and let them get away again. Not this time." She had stepped back as she spoke, and now stood in a patch of moonlight. Her face bore a look of fierce determination mixed with deep sorrow. Alain was suddenly struck by how beautiful she looked. She looked him in the eye and said, "If you won't let me come with you, I'll set out on my own."

He wouldn't let that happen. But he wouldn't consent to having her come either. "Do what you want," he answered gruffly.

Zara looked a bit disheartened, but when he walked further into the trees, she followed him.

 _At least you'll have her with you now,_ his mind told him.

 _That's a terrible thing!_ he shouted back. _She'll be in danger!_

 _But you'll be with her. You'll keep it from happening._

 _And what if I don't?_

He had no response to that. He didn't even want to think about it.

After twenty minutes of walking, he found a small hollow that was far enough from Lumiose to be safe from any threats it posed, and was fairly well sheltered from both the elements and prying eyes. He settled down and leaned against a tree, pulling a blanket from his bag and trying to get some sleep. He closed his eyes as soon as he lay down, but he could hear Zara settling down across from him in the small space.

He turned over and tried to ignore her.

And then she did something that surprised him.

She started to sing.

Very softly, only just loud enough for the two of them to hear, but she was singing. The song was a soft, slow one, probably a lullaby. Alain didn't open his eyes, btu he listened intently. Zara's voice went on for several minutes, and as the song progressed, Alain felt a sense of peace, the same kind of peace he'd felt back at the school, wash over him. Slowly, he began to feel drowsy.

And then the song was over. The night sounds moved back in, and Zara fell silent.

But Alain still felt at peace. Perhaps not completely, but enough so.

Soon he heard Zara's breathing even out. Unconscienously, he reached out on foot and layed it next to her leg. _Just to make sure she's there. If she moves, I'll wake up and be able to protect her._ Much as he knew that wasn't the reason, he let it go unwilling to acknolwedge it.

Within minutes, he was sound asleep.


End file.
